Leg Post 84
In Leg Post 83, Aman Tabiz arrived at Mount Damavand and relayed the news to Zoroaster that his apprentice, Imhotep, had lost the position of NeSorcerer. In Leg Post 85, Zoroaster is surprised that Aman would travel all the way just to deliver this news, but Aman admits he didn't. Instead he wants to store his possessions in the well protected Sanctuary of Zoroaster and the Shaheb-e-Dilan. In return he would supply the Sanctuary with rare goods from the Assyrian Empire's traders. An Ancient Postal Service Guy eventually arrives with a package for Aman Tabiz, which Zoroaster must 'sign' for on a carving tablet. The APS Guy asks him about his rings, which he reveals to all be for housework or personal grooming. The APS Guy admits they're useful but he expected something more grandiose. Zoroaster believes wands should be used for more impressive magic. Aman returns and unveils that he has brought a magic staff. Zoroaster recognises it as Caduceus, the staff of Hermes. Aman asserts that he plans to store it to keep it safe from evil hands that would misuse the gifts that gods bestow upon mortals. He doesn't see any point in returning it to Hermes, who is a god of magic and doesn't need it, but he won't allow it to be used again. Though Zoroaster protests at keeping magic artefacts in Sanctuary, Aman reminds Zoroaster that they had an agreement and the package he signed for is the first payment. Beneath Sanctuary, in the Gaol of Aži Dahāka, the vril dragon himself is speaking with the Demon Lord, Aeshma. Aeshma uses the corruption within Aman Tabiz to garner exertable power within the physical world and empower Aži Dahāka. With a demonic aura, the dragon is finally able to free himself from the prison of impossible devices and the grip of Helios, the sun god. Guided by Aeshma, Aži Dahāka find himself in northern India and creates a lair in the Panchachuli mountains of the Himalayas. He feeds on the corruption of the decadent Indian rulers and he destroys those that oppose him. The corrupt rulers begin to use the dragon's wrath to destroy their rivals, making ever greater sacrifices to the vril dragon to outdo each other. Even when the Christians arrived in India centuries later, they joined the great game. With the money of the Catholic Church to support him, Prester John created a powerful Christian kingdom within India and sacrificed much to the dragon to ensure he, and his kingdom, remained all-powerful. Post Wrath Zoroaster: “I’m surprised you travelled all this way just to relay this news to me. That’s very honourable of you.” Aman Tabiz: “I didn’t.” Zoroaster: “Ah.” Aman Tabiz: “I heard this is called Sanctuary? I have need of such a place. I figure a place home to powerful mages must be well defended?” Zoroaster: “I suppose… though we’re not some kind of army for you to hire, you understand?” Aman Tabiz: “I don’t intend to do any such thing. I just need a… room. Somewhere I can store my possessions.” Zoroaster: “Perhaps that could be arranged… but we are not a bank either.” Aman Tabiz: “I will pay my way.” Zoroaster: “We have no need of money directly, but if you were to make some donations in towns so that they could provide us with food and goods, I think we can accommodate you, Mr Tabiz.” Aman Tabiz: “Consider it done. I will go to the towns directly. The Assyrian Empire has much in the way of trade.” Zoroaster: “Yes, I know. One of the teachers here, Daveous, has an obsession with something called bubble gum. Please ensure some of your funds go in that direction.” Without a further word, Aman Tabiz left the Sanctuary and headed to the town where he would begin trading and collecting the possessions he wanted stored at Sanctuary. And yet, in the bowls of Mount Damavand, beneath Zoroaster’s den, was the Gaol of Aži Dahāka and within it, the dark dragon stirred. Aži Dahāka: “I do sense it. The corruption of this stranger.” Voice: “Thus is the well that an immortal provides. Even minor corruptions will amount to a great evil given generations and generations to fester.” Aži Dahāka: “And can you use this? The Shaheb-e-Dilan have purged themselves of corrupting emotions so they are of no use.” Voice: “I can. Patience, fell dragon. Upon this immortal’s return, I shall draw upon his darkness and I shall bestow upon thee a portion of my power.” Aži Dahāka: “So long as it is enough to break these bonds, Demon Lord.” Voice: “It shall be, for I am Aeshma; the embodiment of wrath!” Ancient Postal Service (APS) Guy: “Delivery for a Mister A-men… Tabits” Zoroaster: “I believe it’s Aman Tabiz, dear fellow.” APS Guy: “Yeah, that guy.” Zoroaster: “You can leave it here. He’ll be back shortly, I expect.” APS Guy: “You’ll need to sign for it.” Zoroaster: “Very well.” The Assyrian Empire hadn’t gotten Phoenician writing yet, so the APS Guy whipped out a large tablet and Zoroaster had to carve into it a symbol that looked like a donkey having sex with a whale. Though it could have been an eagle eating the carcass of a dancing hamster. Who could tell? APS Guy: “Nice lair you got here, mister!” Zoroaster: “Oh! And they tell me ‘lair’ is an evil-sounding word!” APS Guy: “Oh? You’re not a supervillain then? I thought with all those rings, you had to be some kind of crime boss…” Zoroaster: “No. No. These rings are artefacts!” APS Guy: “Oh? Like them, eh, magical rings, am I right?” Zoroaster: “Exactly!” APS Guy: “And what do they do? Anything special?” Zoroaster: “My dear fellow, they’re magical rings… of course they do something special!” APS Guy: “Should be interesting!” Zoroaster: “Well, this one is enchanted to wash dishes!” APS Guy: “Oh…” Zoroaster: “And this one will wash clothes.” APS Guy: “Hmm…” Zoroaster: “And this one dusts…” APS Guy: “I think I get the picture…” Zoroaster: “And this one—” APS Guy: “They’re all for housework are they then?” Zoroaster: “Well… most of them. All but one.” APS Guy: “And what about that last one then?” Zoroaster: “The most special of all!” APS Guy: “I’m listening…” Zoroaster: “It clips toenails! Aha!” APS Guy: “Useful… I guess…” Zoroaster: “Quite! I can spend my time doing more important things.” APS Guy: “Well… I guess that’s true. I mean, I reckon the wife would love to have a few of them. But I was expecting a bit more… you know?” Zoroaster: “A little more…? Pizzazz?” APS Guy: “That’s the one!” Zoroaster: “Well, that’s what wands are for! It would be pointless having wands and rings! Better to be a master of a few things rather than a novice of many. That’s what I always tell my students!” APS Guy: “Want to tell me what your wands do?” Zoroaster: “No.” APS Guy: “Awww…” Aman Tabiz: “You can leave now…” The APS Guy jumped as Aman appeared behind him and then, with a frown and a complaint under his breath about unappreciative customers, he marched off. Zoroaster turned to look at Aman and eyed the beclothed object he held in his hands. Zoroaster: “And what is that?” Aman Tabiz: “A lamp.” There was no pause, no trace of a lie on his face. Zoroaster: “That might work on other people, but I can feel a lot of magic radiating from it, Mr Tabiz.” Aman shrugged, not surprised he had been caught out. He unwrapped the head of it to reveal a staff. It appeared to be a somewhat traditional magic staff – a long wooden pole topped by a gem encased in cage-like wood. The gem was silent now, but Zoroaster new it would awaken in the hands of a mage it deemed worthy. Most staves were like that, they were temperamental and had a habit of only serving a select few. Magical talent had nothing to do with it. Even the most powerful mage, no matter how grandiose they were, wouldn’t get a staff to work unless that staff liked them. Zoroaster had seen many staves in his time and instantly recognised the one in front of him. Zoroaster: “Now, I may not know the man very well but I have met Hermes and I know this is his staff. Does he know you have it?” Aman Tabiz: “He wasn’t using it.” Zoroaster: “My dear fellow, I am not using my appendix. That doesn’t mean you are at liberty to take it.” Aman glanced down. Aman Tabiz: “I could get you a good price for it.” Zoroaster rolled his eyes. Zoroaster: “You do realise how potent that object is? Caduceus is not a toy.” Aman Tabiz: “That is why I have it.” Zoroaster: “What do you mean?” Aman Tabiz: “The gods have been reckless with their gifts. They continuously bestow these things to mortals who wield them for a time and then die and pass it on to people who are… less worthy. Many have died when these things fall into the wrong hands.” Zoroaster: “And you believe yours are the right hands, do you?” Aman Tabiz: “No. I told you. I want to store it here. Nobody knows it’s here. It will stay quiet and hidden from evil men.” Zoroaster: “I see… well, I suppose I can admire your purpose, Mr Tabiz, I still think you are being a sly rogue about it. Perhaps you could merely return it to Hermes?” Aman Tabiz: “What for? He’s a god of magic, he doesn’t need it.” Zoroaster: “Wasn’t he only just reinstated as a deity? How did you even get this?” Aman Tabiz: “We were both students of Isis. We shared a dorm.” Zoroaster: “If I caught any of my students doing that, I’d expel them!” Aman Tabiz: “That’s why they work so hard to not get caught.” He tapped his chin. Aman Tabiz: “Actually, they’d probably make good students of mine!” Zoroaster: “A thief mage? I hope never to see such a thing!” Aman Tabiz: “Just a thought.” He stalked past Zoroaster who blinked with surprise; Zoroaster: “Now, hold on! I didn’t allow you to take that up there!” Aman Tabiz: “Yes you did.” Zoroaster: “What? When!?” Aman Tabiz: “You said I could store my things here.” Zoroaster: “Yes, that was before I knew it was going to be stolen, magical objects!” Aman Tabiz: “See that crate the APS Guy delivered?” Zoroaster: “Yes?” Aman Tabiz: “You received your payment already. Transaction is completed. No refunds.” Zoroaster: “Now see here--!” Aman Tabiz: “We’ll be quiet!” He called down as he ascended the stairs. Aman Tabiz: “You won’t even know I’m here.” Aeshma: “I have it.” Aži Dahāka: “Then freedom is at hand!” Aeshma: “Where will you go once free, fell dragon?” Aži Dahāka: “I shall take back my mountain! The sorcerer will rue the day he stepped foot into my lair! And yes, it is a lair. I’m a dragon. Dragons have lairs.” Aeshma: “You will be vulnerable. You are weakened by this prison. And now there are many mages here, each with training under Zoroaster himself. You will die here.” Aži Dahāka: “Then I shall die wreaking my revenge and my name shall go down in legend!” Aeshma: “I will not waste my gifts upon such nonsense, Aži Dahāka.” Aži Dahāka: “You dare renege on our pact, demon!?” Aeshma: “There are other lands to terrorise without such a powerful adversary. He is a mortal human. He will wither and die. The future belongs to you, dragon of vril, should you learn patience. Destruction and chaos can be meted out upon humanity. I have no interest in your trivial desires and neither should you. If you must use our wrath upon Zoroaster and his kin, then you should do so when you have more strength and he is weakened with age. Then you can piss on his grave.” Aži Dahāka: “I don’t piss…” Aeshma: “Unfortunate.” Many days passed as Aži Dahāka considered this. He understood Aeshma’s view and knew it to be the wisest course and yet his bubbling desire for vengeance had grossly consumed his mind ever since he was trapped. He couldn’t believe he had been defeated by a human and still refused to acknowledge that he may be beaten again. Zoroaster had been lucky, that is all. But as the days wore on and he watched the Shaheb-e-Dilan parade themselves before him as always, his anger towards them became deeper. It wasn’t a surface-level rage, it became a deep-seated loathing. Revenge would be a dish best served cold. The Shaheb-e-Dilan reported to Zoroaster of the dragon’s unusual quietude and Zoroaster began to further improve the enchantments and workings of the prison as a precaution. But it wasn’t enough. The dragon agreed to the terms of the Demon of Wrath and was suddenly imbued with such demonic strength that the very walls of the volcano threatened to rumble from the sheer aura that now surrounded the beast. He struggled and fought. The magic enchantments were first to break, as were the physical bindings. The impossible devices also gave way under the strain of the demonic aura. The last surge was fought against the vice grip of Helios, a god of the sun. His plasmatic hand was fuelled by the sun itself but that power could only hold so long as the portal remained open. Aeshma exerted his strength into the physical world from his hellish domain and the machine keeping the portal open blasted apart. Suddenly the hand was gone and the dragon burst from his chains. The volcano had long since quieted and the funnel was crusted over. But now it was blasted apart as the vril dragon smashed through the rock and soared into the sky. The mages sent spell after spell at the dragon, but the beast laughed with elation at his freedom. He went up and up and then far away from the lands of the Elborz mountains. He was guided by the Demon Lord to a land known as India. Here there were many kingdoms more ancient than even his birth and decadence was rife with its kings. Here the demon could feed on the corruption and Aži Dahāka relished in the opportunity to sow his malevolence upon these people. Initially they opposed him with weapons and beasts and ancient magics but Aži Dahāka was powerful and with the demon’s aura, he demolished all those who fought him. When he demanded obedience, many caved in to his demands. Gold was delivered to his new lair in the south of the Himalayas. The Panchachuli mountains became his bed. He accumulated so much gold and offerings that he burrowed out all five mountains. He even demanded human sacrifices – the most vulnerable of them, beautiful girls especially as they had more value to the kings. When the girls were mounted upon the sacrificial rock, he chewed them to pieces and spat out the mutilated carcasses. He didn’t need to eat flesh, after all, he just wanted to kill something precious. The kings of northern India would send great trains, filled with offerings, to stave off the dragon’s wrath. Should Aži Dahāka be displeased with the splendour of the offerings, that kingdom would suffer months of attacks – entire villages razed and, should no offering still be satisfying enough, he would destroy the great palaces that the royals lived in. This began to corrupt the kings further. They would offer the greatest sacrifices, the most beautiful virgins, up to the dragon in order to gain his favour and the loser of this contest would often become victim to the dragon and his lands would become ripe for the taking of other, richer kings. The corruption fed upon corruption and bred more corruption still. The dragon went on unchecked. Even when the Christians came to India, they placated the beast just as the Hindus before them. The great Christian kingdom of Prester John grew powerful under the influence of the dragon. The Catholic Church always had the funds to further spread its influence into neighbouring lands, even as the peasants of Italy and France starved, and Aži Dahāka was well fed. The Hindu kings, as wealthy as they were, always fell prey to the dragon’s wrath and the kingdom of Christians grew larger and larger still… Notes Britt's Commentary "I wanted to further add to the demon mythos that I had begun to build up by this point and added AeshmaAeshma article, Wikipedia., a demon of ZoroastrianZoroastrianism article, Wikipedia. origin. Here I tie in this mini-arc to events of Space Camelot and the story of Prester John and The Black Knight as the dragon, Aži Dahāka, is now revealed to be the same dragon that The Black Knight's mother, Anglitora, was almost sacrificed to by Prester John, her father. At this point I intended to use Aeshma outside of this story and his connection to Aži Dahāka, particularly with regards to the opening chapter of Hero Force Ultimate." ~ Britt the Writer References External References Category:Post Category:Leg Post